How to start a business, is a series of decisive steps taken towards a goal-oriented pursuit. in recent times, it’s been a means to an end, especially in developing nations where businesses are set up to augment salaries and wages.
Many, dissatisfied with their jobs tend to seek a business career path to satisfy the long craving for a purpose-driven life. The nine to five work era is fast wearing off with the emergence of virtual workspace and remote job options.
The advent of technology has also contributed to the gravitation towards startups and small-medium enterprises where many people are motivated to seek out freedom, all in a bid to become their boss.
A plunge into this space might sound simple but there are steps you need to take to ensure you have a cutting-edge business experience. Today, we have individuals who have become entrepreneurs, and built empires by applying skills that are helping them push the frontiers of small and medium-scale enterprises.
There are basic steps required for optimal performance in your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Here are 7 steps to starting a business
Work within your budget
Starting a business or embarking on any venture can be exciting at first, with figures playing in your head when you think of the financial returns that will accrue to you at the end of the day.
Working within the confines of your available resources gives you an insight into how profitable your venture will be. It is not every company that survives the first few years of establishment, so if a loan is taken from an external source to fund that investment, it becomes a financial burden if the company packs up.
It does not have to be a big office space or a team of staff. There are stories of people who have built thriving companies which they started from their closets. Some individuals started from their garage, making garage sales, working within the ambit of their provisions.
Get a strategic business partner or co-founder
This requires a lot of market knowledge, proper business structure, and the finance to convey your ideas from paper to physical projects. Sometimes, working on a written idea on your own might not be easy, and getting a business partner could help make the journey less cumbersome.
A business partner should be someone who shares your vision and objectives, understands the structure, and is willing to invest as much time and resources as you would. The type of company should be clearly defined, providing clarity on the terms and agreement binding the company. Transparency is key at this point as this allows a better grasp of the partnership.
Use research-based approach
As a business enthusiast or an intending one, before starting any company, ensure you conduct research or survey to have a better understanding of your business terrain. Several books have been written on business management, many of these books cut across diverse topics on entrepreneurship and startups.
A well-based business cultivated with the right amount of knowledge produces a good yield. Taking steps to take a research-based approach when starting your company provides you with the tools required for you, helps you evaluate the risks associated with it, and enables you to access how profitable the venture will be.
Acquire basic skill
The role of skill acquisition cannot be overemphasized in a business place, basic communication skills are required to have a good customer-client relationship. No customer patronizes a client who lacks ethics and is verbally uncultured. It sounds simple but plays a huge role in the place of business. Every aspiring entrepreneur should have basic skills such as account development, competitive spirit, business analysis, customer relationship amongst several others. These will sharpen your business acumen and broaden your scope.
Write a business plan
A plan in this space is a document with a detailed description of a business, one that is analyzed with emphasis laid on the structure and its functionalities. It clearly defines a company’s future objectives and strategies for achieving them. The entire idea behind the company is iterated on paper hence taking it from a point of mere verbal rhetoric to a physical actualization of the articulated business process. A business plan serves as a compass, providing guidance and pointing you in the right direction. It is easy to pursue an idea that is written down and then follow the one that is shrouded in mere sayings. It is pertinent for any person starting a company.
Brace up for competition
Having a competitive spirit is a skill every entrepreneur must possess, without a competitive edge will be tantamount to the early disintegration of a business as the market is saturated with resilient entrepreneurs who are willing to disrupt the norm, breaking barriers through innovative ideas and creative skills. There is no idea that you think of today that is not going through another person’s mind, several businesses that had existed in the past are either been improved upon, or people are finding new ways to provide better services or products.
So, an entrepreneur must have a keen sense of the market, understand the competitor’s strategy, and have a competitive edge to enable you to stand out in the market. If there are two firms producing baby products, one makes the products without taking into consideration the skin requirement for these toddlers, the other manufactures its products and pays close attention to the details required for manufacturing a cruelty-free baby product. For instance, babies taking their baths are prone to having their eyes and mouth open, perhaps out of childish glee.
Other times, it’s because they need to have an emotional outlet and so it is therefore imperative to patronize cruelty-free products. An entrepreneur starting a company on such products will have to inculcate the tips driving these markets. As a customer, I bet you will patronize the products that are cruelty-free rather than the non-cruelty-free ones. The market is quite saturated and standing tall in a business world will entail donning your thinking cap and becoming creatively assertive with your brand.
Find a mentor
Some people have been bestowed with the skills of providing business guidance, they are well vast in knowledge and have acquired transferable skills over a period. Furthermore, seeking a mentor while starting a company provides you with an opportunity to learn from someone else’s wealth of experience. Here, you can draw from their well of knowledge and be predisposed to basic business techniques.
